Parking tickets made available over the phone

Motorists will now be able to buy parking tickets in Dublin through their mobile phones.

Vodafone has teamed up with Altamedius, a leading provider of next generation payment technology to enable the mobile giants' customers to buy on-street parking tickets with their mobile phones.

The mPark service, operated in conjunction with Dublin City Council, will make paying for on-street parking at designated meters in the Dublin city centre, much easier for Vodafone's m-pay customers.

It represents the first deployment of micro payment services to Vodafone customers under the m-pay banner, and is part of a contract announced last December between Altamedius and Vodafone.

Vodafone m-pay services will be extended to cover purchasing of other low value goods and services, via the Internet, WAP and IVR, over the coming months.

"We are delighted to be part of the first m-pay service, on time and less than 6 months from signing the contract," said Jack McDonnell, director marketing and business development with Altamedius.

"We look forward to working with Vodafone on the implementation of an exciting roadmap of m-pay services in the near future."

mPark will be available on a trial basis to Vodafone customers for an initial period through to September 2002.